Talent sharing
When one IT consultancy lends an employed consultant to another for a project, and what the two firms agree.
Reviewed by Hassen Hattab, founder of BenchBee Updated
Talent sharing is when one company lends an employee to another company for a fixed period, while keeping them on its own payroll. Between IT consultancies, it usually means a firm with a consultant on the bench lends them to a firm with a project it can't staff. The consultant works on the borrowing firm's project; the lending firm keeps employing and paying them, and invoices the borrowing firm a day rate for the days worked. In IT consulting it is also called resource sharing.
How talent sharing works between two firms
- Find the fit. A firm with a project to staff finds a peer with the right consultant on the bench, through its own contacts or a network.
- Interview. The borrowing firm meets the consultant, as it would any subcontractor.
- Agree terms. Day rate, dates, confidentiality and non-solicitation, in a contract between the two companies.
- Work and invoice. The consultant works on the project; the lending firm invoices the days worked.
- Return. At the end of the project the consultant goes back to their own firm's work.
Talent sharing, subcontracting, staff augmentation: what the words mean
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Talent sharing, resource sharing | One firm lends an employed consultant to another for a project. |
| Subcontracting | The usual contract form between the two firms: the lending firm supplies the consultant's work to the borrowing firm. |
| Staff augmentation | A company adds outside people to its own team for a period; the supplier can be a consultancy, an agency or a freelancer. |
| Secondment | An employee works at another organisation for a period, often a client or a partner, then comes back. |
| Freelancing | Not talent sharing: the freelancer is self-employed and sells their own time. |
Why firms share talent
Projects come in waves; headcount doesn't. So one firm's bench is often another firm's gap, in the same month.
For the lending firm, days it pays for anyway become billed days, which raises its billable utilisation. For the borrowing firm, a consultant who can start replaces a hiring search: in the UK, IT vacancies took about 42 days on average to fill (Adzuna, July 2026). The full case: Why IT consultancies share talent with each other.
What the two firms agree
Talent sharing is a deal between two companies, on their own paper. The contract usually covers:
- The day rate and invoicing. What is billed, when, and the payment terms.
- Dates and notice. The start, the expected end, and how either side ends it early.
- Confidentiality. What the consultant and both firms may share about the client and the project.
- Non-solicitation. Neither firm hires the other's people, or approaches its client, for an agreed period.
- Responsibility. The lending firm stays the consultant's employer: salary, leave and day-to-day HR stay with it.
More on the contract: After the match: contracts, NDAs and payments stay between the two firms.
Talent sharing on BenchBee
BenchBee is a private network of verified IT consultancies in the UK, Europe and the GCC, built for talent sharing beyond the firms you already know. A firm lists its consultants between projects and posts the roles it can't staff, with no consultant name and no firm name. Sending a match request reveals the sender to that firm only; accepting reveals both. The two firms agree the rate and sign the contract directly, and BenchBee takes no commission. How it works, step by step: How BenchBee works. The wider market: the bench economy.
Frequently asked questions
What is talent sharing?
Talent sharing is when one company lends an employee to another for a fixed period while keeping them on its own payroll. Between IT consultancies, a firm with a consultant on the bench lends them to a firm with a project it can't staff.
Is talent sharing the same as resource sharing?
Yes. In IT consulting the two names describe the same thing: one firm lends an employed consultant to another for a project.
Does the consultant change employer?
No. The consultant stays employed and paid by their own firm, which invoices the borrowing firm for the days worked.
Who pays the consultant?
Their own firm keeps paying their salary. The borrowing firm pays the lending firm an agreed day rate for the days worked.
What stops the other firm hiring my consultant?
A non-solicitation clause in the contract between the two firms, agreed for a set period. On BenchBee, nobody can contact your consultants directly: requests go to your company.
How long does talent sharing last?
As long as the two firms agree, usually the length of one project or one phase of it. Then the consultant goes back to their own firm's work.
Time to fill: Adzuna, UK Job Market Report, 31 July 2026.
Think of the last role you turned down for want of the right person. Who had them on their bench that week?
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